Contactless payment systems, such as contactless credit or debit cards or Apple Pay devices use radio frequency identification (RFID) or near field communication (NFC) for making secure payments.
Since no signature or PIN (personal identification number) is required, contactless payment systems are considered to be much quicker than conventional payment systems. Indeed, according to the UK Card association 2015 saw an increase of 331% in contactless payments on cards. Figures published in 2015 by The UK Cards Association revealed a surge in contactless payments in 2014. Total spending trebled last year to £2.32 billion, spread across 319 million transactions.
The launch of contactless payments on Transport for London services in September 2014 had a major impact, with over one in ten (11 percent) of all contactless transactions in December 2014 made on London Transport. From September 2015, the limit on contactless transactions increased from £20 to £30, opening up new retail sectors to contactless payments.
Some contactless systems, like Apple Pay, that work via a smart phone or the like, provide confirmation to a user that a transaction has been completed by vibrating or beeping. However, when using a conventional plastic contactless payment card the user receives no feedback on whether the transaction has been completed.
The present invention has been devised to mitigate or overcome at least some of the above-mentioned problems.